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Robots grass up criminals

by on29 September 2023


Videos used as evidence

Delivery robots have been used by the LAPD to spy on criminals.

Serve Robotics, which delivers food for Uber Eats, provided footage filmed by at least one of its robots to the LAPD as evidence in a criminal case.

According to 404 Media delivery robots that are being deployed to sidewalks all around the country are essentially always filming, and their footage can and has been used as evidence in criminal trials.

Emails obtained by 404 Media also show that the robot food delivery company wanted to work more closely with the LAPD, which jumped at the opportunity.

This might have something to do with the fact that two men tried (and failed) to steal a robot owned and operated by Serve Robotics, which ultimately wants to deploy “up to 2,000 robots” to deliver food for UberEats in Los Angeles. The suspects were arrested and convicted.

The main evidence came from the kidnapped robot which had been phoning home the details.

But Serve Robotics wants to widen its robots role. It touts its robots’ autonomous capabilities and has claimed it’s deploying “AI-powered” robots in the city, but delivery robots are still often driven by remote human operators. Serve writes in its app that the robots are “autonomous, remotely supervised.”

Last modified on 29 September 2023
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